#NPsychTeamResearch – Impact of Covid-19 lockdown for people with brain injury in the UK. Carlacci De Mattia, Campbell, Parrett. The Neuropsychologist April 2023 via NPsych

The Neuropsychologist 15: 40-51

Impact of Covid-19 lockdown on the mood, behaviour, and social activities of people with brain injury in the UK: Results of a survey of brain injury professionals’ reports

#NPsychTeamResearch

 

Abstract

The Covid-19 related lockdown of March–June 2020 in the United Kingdom (UK) may have negatively affected mood and behaviour of people with brain injuries. Conversely, there may have been beneficial effects due to reduced demand on cognition and emotional regulation. In this online survey study, care coordinators (n=19) assessed the consequences of lockdown on 130 individuals with ABI (range 3–29 clients per care co-ordinator; 10–65years+; and mostly living in residential care). The majority of reports were of no change to mood, behaviour, or social functioning (105 ratings). However, respondents reported that 88 (68 per cent) clients presented with changes: 63 clients (48 per cent) had lower mood, higher distress, and agitation, and were less engaged in usual activities; while 25 clients (19 per cent) were reported to have improved. Moreover, 13/19 (68 per cent) of respondents reported increased vulnerabilities in their clients, and 5/19 (26 per cent) reported online exploitation, controlling behaviour from partner and financial scams. These data present a mixed picture of how the first national lockdown affected people with ABI.

Read more…

Neuropsychological Recovery Trajectories in Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Influence of Patient Characteristics and Diffuse Axonal Injury

Neuropsychological Recovery Trajectories in Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Influence of Patient Characteristics and Diffuse Axonal Injury

Amanda R. Rabinowitz, Tessa Hart, John Whyte, Junghoon Kim

Published online: 16 October 2017, pp. 237-246

Objectives: The goal of the present study was to elucidate the influence of demographic and neuropathological moderators on the longitudinal trajectory neuropsychological functions during the first year after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). In addition to examining demographic moderators such as age and education, we included a measure of whole-brain diffuse axonal injury (DAI), and examined measures of processing speed (PS), executive function (EF), and verbal learning (VL) separately. Methods: Forty-six adults with moderate to severe TBI were examined at 3, 6, and 12 months post-injury. Participants underwent neuropsychological evaluation and neuroimaging including diffusion tensor imaging. Using linear mixed effects modeling, we examined longitudinal trajectories and moderating factors of cognitive outcomes separately for three domains: PS, VL, and EF. Results: VL and EF showed linear improvements, whereas PS exhibited a curvilinear trend characterized by initial improvements that plateaued or declined, depending on age. Age moderated the recovery trajectories of EF and PS. Education and DAI did not influence trajectory but were related to initial level of functioning for PS and EF in the case of DAI, and all three cognitive domains in the case of education. Conclusions: We found disparate recovery trajectories across cognitive domains. Younger age was associated with more favorable recovery of EF and PS. These findings have both clinical and theoretical implications. Future research with a larger sample followed over a longer time period is needed to further elucidate the factors that may influence cognitive change over the acute to chronic period after TBI. (JINS, 2018, 24, 237–246)

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-neuropsychological-society/article/neuropsychological-recovery-trajectories-in-moderate-to-severe-traumatic-brain-injury-influence-of-patient-characteristics-and-diffuse-axonal-injury/6F22CA4361481005F235BE84E4A89E63

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn